


Some Minor Iteration of True Humanity

by BanishedOne



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: And he doesn't believe that Hank sees him as a potential romantic partner, But also doubts, Connor becomes bitter, Connor has romantic feelings for Hank, Connor is jealous, F/M, Hank and Connor live together, Hank meets a new love interest, Hurt/Comfort, I'll change the rating when it becomes applicable, M/M, Surprise Ending, conflicted feelings, selfish feelings, the whole story is mostly interaction and relationship development between the main characters, which im sure it will
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 08:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16719759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BanishedOne/pseuds/BanishedOne
Summary: Connor dared to admit that he was happy. He wanted to continue like this, building upon the awkward affection shared between himself and Lieutenant Anderson, in the hopes that maybe, one day, it would stop being awkward and finally be natural. After a year of life together, however, he learned in a single night that Hank wasn't nearly as happy to keep things unchanged.





	Some Minor Iteration of True Humanity

One thing became clear to Connor on the night he turned deviant; emotions were complicated.

Emotions were complex things, which according to Lieutenant Hank Anderson, ‘screwed everything up.’ When the young android first met the man, he hadn’t been inclined to agree that emotions, the way humans experienced them, screwed anything up at all.

Post deviancy, Connor discovered that emotions were, in fact, overwhelming and difficult to manage, but nonetheless, worthwhile. Then, once androids were granted their freedom, Connor latched onto Hank like life itself was suddenly a swelling tide which the android couldn’t navigate and the human man was his only means to stay afloat.

Even so, it was a contented existence for Connor; a safe, peaceful one. He settled into a place at the human’s side, polishing his ability to interact, to feel and express himself. He’d discovered joy in those tiny smiles Hank offered him from time to time, satisfaction when he earned the man’s approval. He’d felt a strange warmth at Hank’s nearness and loneliness when working cases for the DPD kept them apart on long, dismal nights. There were even times of friction, when Connor was forced to cope with newfound anger. He had a way of being thoughtless, of failing to understand at times, and Hank was irritable and imperfect, but their ability to communicate steadily improved, until the regretful wounds they left on one another were healed, leaving their relationship polished and strong, despite everything.

Connor dared to admit, at least to himself, that he was happy, that he wanted to continue like this, building upon this awkward affection shared between them and hoping that maybe one day it would stop being awkward and finally be natural.

But after a year of life together, Connor found out very suddenly that Hank wasn’t nearly as satisfied to keep things unchanged.

Connor had asked Hank to meet him at one of the local bars other than Jimmy’s, because even if androids couldn’t legally be forbidden from public spaces any longer, the crowd that went there still consisted of humans who hated androids- it was asking for trouble. 

Connor arrived a bit later than Hank, and a bit later than planned in general. He knew that Hank wouldn’t be cross with him, in fact, he was probably already a few drinks in, which always put the man in a better mood. The thought of Hank quickened Connor’s pace, until he was walking into the assigned meeting place with an eager stride.

A quick scan of the bar sifted Hank’s presence from the rest of the bustling crowd. He usually sat directly at the bar but on this particular evening, he’d taken his drink and wandered over to the pool lounge. Without hesitation, Connor joined him there.

“Hank,” he called aloud once he was within range, voice raised to be heard over the white noise of music and idle chatter. “Sorry I’m late.”

“Hey, Connor,” Hank replied, turning to greet the android. His appreciation showed in the way his posture loosened and his aloof expression shifted to something warmer, something more approachable. Then, when Connor came near, the human slung his arm around Connor’s shoulders, tucking the android close at his side- he was definitely a few drinks in.

“Is this your friend from the DPD?” a nearby woman asked with a sly smile, holding her pool stick parallel to her body and leaning her weight into it. She looked to Connor with eyes that were a deep, enchanting dark which reflected the surrounding lights. “I thought Lieutenant Anderson here was making you up, when he told me about you.”

Connor’s most immediate response was that of intrigue. “What sorts of things did he tell you?” he asked, wriggling out from beneath the weight of Hank’s arm.

“Hm,” she hummed, turning her all-consuming gaze back to the game, sparing it a moment of analysis before she bent to take her shot. “When I offered to teach him how to play pool, he tried to deflect me by insisting that he was waiting for someone.”

“I already know how to play,” Hank interrupted, his voice a low rumble. “I’m, uh.. I’m just a bit rusty.”

The woman paused to concentrate, her hands positioning the cue before she jabbed it forward with a sharp, precise movement. The balls clattered together then rolled apart, some sinking into the pockets, others shifting to new positions. Connor’s eyes roved across the table and with hardly any real effort, he calculated the new moves which became possible once the balls stilled. 

When the woman straightened back to a stand, she continued, “Other than that, he said you were young, nice, reasonably handsome, and a real people-pleaser. It sounded like he was trying to set me up with you, but he didn’t mention that you were an android.”

“That, uh..” Hank’s words were soft but resonant enough to carry. He shrugged. “Well, I just didn’t think it was the most important detail.” Connor watched him speak, observing; he had a visible shyness around women that otherwise belied his size and strength, not to mention his typically gruff nature.

“I see,” Connor replied, crossing his arms while he regarded the human man with a sideways glance, as well as a soft, playful smile. “That’s funny. He used to say I was goofy-looking and that my voice was annoying.”

Hank chuckled, and quickly upturned his drink as though to avoid comment.

The lady laughed, apparently charmed to have somebody else to help her go about pinning Hank into a corner. She bent over the table to make another shot, aligning the pool stick with the cue ball. A long, dark braid fell over one shoulder as she did and a glimpse of her cleavage became visible from where she stood. Connor caught the instant that Hank’s eyes drifted there, lingering for a quick moment before moving away and ending upon her grip on the pool stick.

Connor shifted on his heels, turning his gaze to observe Hank a bit more directly. He was subtle, trying not to draw too much attention to himself while he scanned the human man, given that Hank had learned to tell when he was doing it. Hank’s pupils were dilated a bit more than normal for the level of light and his heart rate was increased; clear signs of animal attraction.

“I don’t think Hank was trying to set me up with you,” Connor commented, looking to the woman again after she’d finished her turn. “I’m sure that you’ve gathered by now that I’m Connor. Do you have a name?”

“Pritha,” Hank filled in, gesturing to her with a small smile on his lips. “Her name is Pritha.”

She nodded her head in Hank’s direction to indicate that he was correct before she walked over to him, offering the pool cue and taking the empty drink glass out of his hand. Her fingertips brushed his as she did it, then she set her dark eyes upon the glass while Hank proceeded over to the pool table.

“Let me get you another one, Lieutenant Anderson,” she offered.

“It’s fine,” he replied, trying to brush her off.

“I insist,” she said. “The only way to keep mysterious men engaged is to keep their drinks full.”

“Mysterious?” He chuckled softly. “Is that my allure?”

“I could get you another drink, Hank,” Connor offered, his mouth curving upward at one corner. “For old time’s sake.”

“You buy me drinks every time we go out, Connor,” the man stated, leaving Connor wondering if he caught the reference to their first meeting. He’d bought him a drink then, too, and just as Pritha said, it did help hold his interest. Regardless of Hank’s reply, however, he gave Connor a nod of resignation, and with a satisfied smile, Connor turned to Pritha and took the empty glass from her hand as politely as possible, then strode over to the bar to acquire a refill.

When Connor returned with Hank’s drink, he came to a stand at the man’s side, placing the glass nearby, where Hank could retrieve it once he was done with his turn.

“Don’t sink the eight ball by accident this time, Lieutenant,” Pritha teased, watching the older man from across the table, a drink of her own in hand.

“Don’t worry,” Hank grumbled, a smile on his face. “I get better as I get drunker.”

Despite what he’d said, though, he sort of hovered, totally indecisive about where he wanted to place the cue ball in order to make a decent shot. Connor just hoped that betting wasn’t involved, because it was clear to him that his friend was bluffing about knowing what he was doing. 

Before Hank had the chance to make a poor decision, Connor turned his head as though something across the room had caught his interest, then he quietly muttered the words, “I wouldn’t do that.”

Hank paused, turning to grab up his refilled drink, then he started around the rails of the table, in order to stand on the other side, across from his android friend. He hummed to himself in consideration, taking a swig of his beverage before placing it aside again and moving to place the cue ball. He didn’t quite settle on the placement before the blue of his eyes shot across the table to Connor, silently asking for the android’s opinion. 

Connor cupped his chin, moving his fingers to hide the sly grin pulling across his lips, then he blinked, offering the slightest bob of his head in place of an approving nod. With that, Hank placed the ball and bent down to make his stroke.

Not so surprisingly, Connor’s guidance immediately improved Hank’s game. They went back and forth in this way for almost an hour, until the point that Hank and Pritha were competing to sink the eight-ball for the win. Only then did the woman finally catch on to the very subtle communication going on between the former partners.

“Oh, I get it,” she hummed aloud, giving both of the men a suspicious eye and a shame-on-you gesture. She pointed to Hank, then went on, “You’re getting your android friend to help you, you cheat.”

“It’s not cheating,” Hank said with a chuckle, his big shoulders rolling in a guiltless shrug. “I still made the shots myself.”

“Sure, sure,” Pritha laughed, a little exasperated, but all the more amused. She looked to Connor in thought, fingers fiddling with a delicate, golden chain which hung around her neck. “Connor, instead of helping the Lieutenant look good, why don’t you just play with us?”

Connor balked at the suggestion, his LED flickering in doubt. A grateful smile painted his features, but he still shook his head in dismissal, his voice soft and unsure. “I’m certain that would make it less fun for the two of you.”

“Well, it can’t be much fun for you, always standing and watching, just to avoid stepping on our human egos,” Pritha reassured. Connor hadn’t expected it at all, and for a speechless instant, his dark eyes drifted over to peer instead at Hank in questioning.

“She’s got a point,” he answered, crossing his arms and nodding his head. Then, with a gesture at the younger woman, he added, “I, for one, think it’d be more fun to watch her ego get stepped on.”

“I think it’d be more fun to have some actual competition,” she snapped in retort. “How about this, three-way cutthroat, but Hank and I try to beat you.”

With a gentle nod of his head and a sweet expression, Connor casually replied with, “That might be.. almost fair.”

While Connor gathered the billiards in the triangle-shaped rack, readying the table for a new game, Pritha finally went about buying Hank yet another drink. Again, he tried to brush it off, apparently embarrassed to have a woman spoiling him, but they eventually came to a fair compromise; Hank agreed to another drink, so long as he purchased a plate of nachos to be shared between them.

She’d never tried the nachos at this particular bar, and Hank insisted that they were delicious. Connor refrained from vocalizing the calory content of the small mountain of chips, meat and cheese when the dish arrived, but he did give his head a disapproving shake. The two humans seemed satisfied, so he supposed that was what really mattered.

“Should I flip a coin to decide whether Connor should have the first turn, or one of us?” Pritha offered, once they were ready to begin, but Connor rejected the notion with haste.

“That’s alright,” he said. “Decide between the two of you. You’ll need a head start.”

Pritha either enjoyed Connor’s confidence, or she made a polite show of it, smiling and laughing whenever he chose to state so bluntly how difficult it would be to play against him. Before they began, she explained that the rules of this game would be different from the last one; she made it appear as though she was telling Connor, though it was clearly for Hank’s sake.

She allowed Hank to shoot first, without even flipping a coin. Again, whenever the cue was passed between them, their hands coyly touched. If Connor were human, it would’ve almost certainly put him off his game. When Hank’s turn was finished, Pritha complemented him, saying, “Either the first game truly warmed away the rust, or you actually do get better with each drink.”

It was an empty compliment because Hank was really only playing with moderately improved accuracy from the last game. It was also a good thing that he already wore a flush across his cheeks from the drinks, or else his shy fluster would be quite apparent.

If anything, it was Pritha whose playing turned serious. She was clearly putting a great deal more strategy into deciding her moves, absorbed in the task of besting Connor. And while Connor was happy to have been included, by mid-game, he finally realized that the underlying strategy had been to change whose team Hank played on, all along.

Inevitably, he won the game regardless.

“Of course,” Pritha said with a smile, a good sport about it. She actually did seem as though she’d honestly enjoyed it. She shrugged, saying, “Oh well, it can’t be helped, I guess.”

“You kept me at bay for an impressive amount of time,” Connor complimented her, meeting her eyes. “You’re quite good.”

“Alright, how about one more game?” Hank said with a sigh, ambling toward the bar. “I’m gonna go get my own drink this time.”

Pritha finished off her drink, then set to work arranging the billiards again. Connor fished the absent balls from the pockets and rolled them over to her. By the time Hank was standing at the bar, the woman spoke up in apparent curiosity.

“So, how long have you worked with Lieutenant Anderson?” she asked. “You two seem very close.”

“A little more than a year, now,” Connor replied. He’d learned not to answer with exact numbers, even though he had a measure of how long he’d known Hank down to the seconds. Apparently being so precise all the time was off-putting to humans. “But he was my first real partner when I was still newly activated and the case we worked together was.. challenging. It had a bonding effect on us, I suppose.”

“Hm,” she nodded, smiling pleasantly. “It sounds like he’s like a father to you. That’s sweet.”

What gave her that idea? Connor weighed his options, wondering how she would take it if he contradicted her. Hank came back before he reached a conclusion, so he was given no choice but to drop it.

They played another game, but this time Connor made a point to win even more quickly than he had last time. If he was honest, he’d held back a bit before, for the sake of making sure Hank enjoyed himself. In less than half an hour, Connor took the victory, which was fine, because Hank had hit the usual blood alcohol level that signalled that it was ‘time to go home.’

Hank certainly had a drinking problem, but Connor had learned that this was a strategic way for the man to limit himself. In public, he was conscious of how other people perceived him, and that slowed his pace a bit.

Once Hank decided to leave, though, he didn’t hesitate to offer Pritha a ride home. Such a damn gentleman. The woman tried to insist that she could take a cab, but after she’d bought Hank so many drinks, he couldn’t help but offer her this much in return.

Well, it was more like he offered in Connor’s place, because Connor was the one driving them.

The three of them crunched across the small, gravel parking lot together to Hank’s car. The nearby river was visible from the lot, and they paused to admire the lights shining across the black stretch of water as Connor unlocked the car doors for them. 

Hank opened the door to the backseat, bending down to throw a few extra articles of clothing and empty soda bottles aside, then he straightened and sheepishly backed off to allow her to crawl inside. Connor had assumed that Hank would ride in the passenger seat, but instead, when Pritha ducked into the backseat, her hand lingered on Hank’s jacket sleeve, beckoning him to keep her company in the back. He followed, hapless and unable to say no.

Pritha leaned froward, between the two front seats in order to give Connor her address, then settled in a little too closely at Hank’s side. Even Hank, himself, felt that the woman was unusually near, if his tense posture, visible from the rearview mirror, was any indication. Still, Connor couldn’t help but smile with how Hank had to hold his head at a tilt in order to fit back there.

“It was fun,” Hank commented a bit awkwardly, some time after Connor pulled out of the lot. “We should definitely do it again sometime, you know, if you want.”

“I do,” she said, her voice soft and suddenly much more demure-sounding in the absence of the noisy bar. Connor considered turning on the radio to block out this change in her tone. His dark eyes went back and forth between the road and the rearview mirror. 

“We should definitely do it again. Here.” She was taking out her cellphone and placing it into Hank’s hands, allowing him to program his own number into it. Not that she knew, but it was a foolish move. Hank’s big hands were terrible at actually pressing the correct keys. He got Connor to do that sort of thing more than half of the time.

And then she read the number back to him in order to confirm it- damn it.

Connor’s LED began to flash yellow, but all he could do was hope that they weren’t paying any attention to him. They would likely assume that he was just processing the route, anyway.

“Still can’t figure out why a gorgeous girl like you went out of her way to spend her whole evening with me,” Hank commented. His voice was a gentle rumble, like a cat’s purr- he always made an effort to soften his tone when he spoke to women, sometimes going as far as shifting to a slightly higher register, like it made him less of a threat.

Pritha laughed. It was a soft, warm sound. “You know how men are always going on about liking women who take a little unravelling to get to know? It turns out, some women like men like that, too.” She paused, nudging her elbow gently against his arm. “Plus, you’re a handsome man and it’s fun watching you get flustered.”

Normally, Connor made an effort not to break the rules of the road. Tonight, he drove a bit over the speed limit. It was a short distance to where Pritha lived, but there were just so many stop signs on the way.

Once they made it to her apartment building, she outstretched her hand to pat Connor’s shoulder, thanking him for driving her. He gave a quiet nod in reply. That’s all he could think to offer, really.

She opened the car door to exit, only for Hank to interrupt her with a quick, “Hey, thanks again,” like he was both genuinely grateful to have had her company, while still being utterly confounded by it. She smiled and nodded, placing her hand against his arm and leaning in with the intention to perhaps kiss his cheek, only for him to turn and meet her gesture, so that she ended up pressing her lips to his, instead.

Connor’s gaze in the rearview mirror darted away, but not without his LED turning to red. The kiss was quick and practically chaste, but that hardly made a difference to him. 

How could this woman, who Hank had just met, have him kissing her in a single evening? Connor could only presume that the chemical magnetism between biological organisms had played a part, but then again, what if Hank just.. didn’t think Connor was capable of romance, or worse, what if Hank didn’t see him as a viable partner at all?

Pritha obviously hadn’t seen him as one. She been quick to write him off when she found out what he was, despite that Hank had apparently attempted to set them up. Hank had always had his reservations about humans having relationships with machines, as well, so maybe Connor had just been naive in thinking he could ever change his mind.

When Pritha got out and the car door was shut behind her, Connor still waited until she was inside of her building before he drove away. Regardless of the unfair ease she had in enchanting a man who Connor had been pining after for nearly a year, he still cared for her safety. He drove for five minutes in silence before Hank decided that he wanted to make conversation. 

“What did you think of her, Connor?” he asked.

Why was he asking for Connor’s opinion like it was even relevant? Connor didn’t have anything clever to say, so he decided to play the oblivious machine card, instead. “Human female, age 36, south Asian ethnicity, height ‘5'3', weight approximately 150 lbs.”

Hank let out a gruff chuckle, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh, so you’re putting on the oblivious machine act, huh?” 

Damn- he wasn’t fooled. 

“Something must have your circuits in a twist if you’re acting like that,” he commented, a bit baffled but also perceptive enough to know what Connor’s behaviour meant. Connor’s eyes met his in the rearview. “And I thought you had fun.”

“I did,” Connor replied.

“Then what’s going on?” Hank asked, unwilling to let his companion sulk in peace. “You okay?”

“I’m operational.”

“C’mon Connor, don’t be like that.” Hank’s knees dug into the back of the seat. They did anyway, but it was even more apparent if he made an effort to bounce his legs. Connor adjusted the seat to give him more space, but little else, then with narrowed eyes, Hank finally asked the most obvious question. “You’re not.. jealous, are you?”

“Jealous?” Connor repeated the word, not incredulous, just saying it like it was for the sake of confirming. He was jealous. It was something new and unfamiliar for him to be feeling, but yes, that was definitely it. “No,” he replied.

With a little grunt, Hank accepted his companion’s answer, giving his head a soft nod.

“..Well, maybe a bit,” the android admitted less than a minute later. “You are my only real friend, after all. It’s difficult not to feel.. threatened.”

“I can’t believe it,” Hank chuckled like it was pretty amusing that a damn android was being so petty and territorial. “Hey, don’t worry, Connor, nothing is gonna come between us.” He shrugged, thinking on his words. It was common for him to turn wary when the potential for emotional vulnerability arose. It was uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but he’d learned to weather it in Connor’s presence. “If it weren’t for you being so damn persistent, I would still be too closed off to interact with other people, if I could avoid it. I really owe you, you know that?”

Connor nodded, unsure what to say to that. He was glad to know that his presence in Hank’s life had contributed to a positive change, that his friendship had helped the man heal, even a bit. But he was already bitter over the prospect of someone else reaping the benefits, especially considering that the whole world kept its back turned to Hank when he was utterly alone and isolated.

“..did you like her, then?” Connor eventually asked, though his tone was wary.

“Hm,” Hank’s shoulders rolled into a little shrug. To him, the answer seemed obvious. “Well yeah, what wasn’t to like? She was nice and she had a real charm to her.”

“I see.” The attempt to sound neutral was there, but Connor probably failed miserably. “Hank, can I ask you something?”

“Is it..” Hank snickered under his breath before his words even left his mouth, “..a personal question?”

Connor smiled, unable to resist the familiar warmth between himself and the human man. “Not exactly,” he said. “Personal between us, I suppose.”

“Yeah, sure,” Hank purred, nonchalant in his buzzed haze. “What’s up, Connor?”

“Do you..” He let out a nervous sound, his LED flickering from blue to yellow again in consideration. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, then he blurted the question with as much steadiness as he could manage, “Do you think of me as a son?”

“Wh- ..a son?” Hank went quiet. It was an uncomfortable silence and Connor knew him well enough now to tell. Connor knew that this was a semi-breach of the unbreachable topic, because even after a year of cohabitation, the name Cole had only come up once or twice and Hank flinched any time a child so much as stumbled within his visual range.

With haste, Connor made an attempt to backpedal a bit. “I suppose you have referred to me as such in passing, but you’ve also called Detective Reed ‘son’ as a means to undermine him, so I hadn’t thought much of it,” he explained. “I took it as something older men simply say to younger men, mockingly or endearingly, but not necessarily in the literal context.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Hank hummed, his head turned aside, his eyes staring out the foggy window. “To answer your question: I don’t really think of you that way, Connor. But, uh, is that.. something that you wanted?”

“I have no need for a paternal figure.” Connor’s reply was fast and sharp. “I’m not an animal, and as such, I’ve never had a maturity phase in which parental guidance was necessary.” Of course, this brought on some rather flinching thoughts of Amanda. She certainly wasn’t a mother, no, just a means of control. Then again, for some unfortunate human beings, there wasn’t a difference between the two.

“Yeah, well, good,” Hank muttered with a degree of relief. “No offense, Connor, but.. I had a son, and.. I don’t think I could bear lending someone else that official title without feeling like I’m..”

“..Replacing him?” The android hesitantly filled in the words when Hank didn’t want to say them, then he offered a nod of his head in return. He could see Hank’s reflection softly nodding, too, in the rearview mirror, his expression suddenly pensive. Connor softened his voice, speaking gently, “I understand, Hank. And I think we’re in agreement.”

“So then.. what are we, Connor?” Hank asked, glad enough to move on, and curious as to where this whole conversation was leading. Clearly, his android companion wanted to put some kind of label on their relationship.

Connor chuckled, tilting his head upward so that Hank could see his warm, smiling reflection. “Whatever you want us to be, Lieutenant.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, friends. Thank you for reading, as well as for any kudos and comments left behind. I hope you all enjoyed chapter one, and I'm excited to hear from you all. If you enjoy my stories, please follow me on social media as well~
> 
> Twitter: @BanishedOne  
> Tumblr: BanishedOne and Banishfics


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